INTRODUCING MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT — It is with tremendous pleasure that I can reveal Microsoft Silverlight: our next-generation, cross-platform, cross-browser web client runtime. Silverlight (previously codenamed "WPF/E") is a lightweight subset of XAML for building rich media experiences on the web.

Adobe Showcases Media Player (with DRM) — Adobe will unveil Monday its business plan for a desktop Flash media player still in development. The product, due for beta release "this spring," will be a free platform monetized through licensing DRM and analytics tools.

Microsoft, Adobe Set A Collision Course on Web — Microsoft Corp. and Adobe Inc. are on a collision course as they seek to dominate a new kind of software that will change how personal computers and the Web work together. — The companies have been partners in the past …

"WPF/E" becomes Silverlight, struts its video side — At the NAB conference this morning, Microsoft is giving us a first glimpse at Silverlight, the artist formerly known as "WPF/E". Because the announcement comes from the NAB conference, but also because it's one of Silverlights major strong points …

YM Exclusive: Dodgeball Founders Leave Google — Getting Out of Dodge. Dennis Crowley, founder of the mobile social networking service Dodgeball, and Alex Rainert resigned from their positions at Google, which acquired the service in May 2005, effective Friday April 13th.

Is Justin Timberlake a Product of Cumulative Advantage? — As anyone who follows the business of culture is aware, the profits of cultural industries depend disproportionately on the occasional outsize success — a blockbuster movie, a best-selling book or a superstar artist — to offset the many investments that fail dismally.

Fotowoosh Will Turn Any Picture Into 3D Image — Fotowoosh Will Turn Any Picture Into A 3D Image — Fotowoosh, a new service from Maryland-based startup Freewebs, will turn any image (preferably an outdoor image) into a 3D model. They went live on Friday.

$100 Million Valuation For Geni — Seven week old Geni raised a $10 million second round of financing last week, led by Charles River Ventures (see our coverage of CRV here), with a post-money valuation of $100 million. George Zachary from CRV is joining the Geni board of directors.

Phone rivals threaten to spoil iPod's party — Apple has sold 100m of its music players but Nokia and others are already outselling it with song-playing mobiles, reports Paul Durman — APPLE was celebrating last week as it marked the sale of its 100 millionth iPod - a landmark …

Ustream.tv Enables Mass Live Streaming Through Webcam — Ever since Justin started reinventing The Truman Show on the Internet and broadcasting his everyday life for all to see, a bulb has been lit among many. Ustream.tv, which launched very recently, is one that is, you could say a live version …

Intel's MID UMPCs: So long XP/Vista, hello Linux — Big news on the UMPC front this morning folks. Looks like Intel is shedding the Origami gorilla (read: Microsoft) as they prep a Linux-based platform to compete with Vista and XP-based UMPCs. Intel will unveil their new MID …

From signed up to satisfied — Getting new users is easy; keeping them is hard. Join Intercom co-founder Des Traynor as he explains how to bridge the gap between a company's initial traction and sustained success.